Apple's crucial multitouch patent claims confirmed by USPTO

More trouble for Samsung?

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has upheld 20 of Apple's patent claims after re-examining what is being coined the "Steve Jobs patent".

The part of the filing that was being targeted specifically deals with the "touchscreen device, method and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics."

When the patent was challenged anonymously last year, the USPTO rejected 20 of Apple's claims in its U.S. Patent No. 7,479,949 filing. However, this was temporary "first Office action", requiring the patent office to re-examine it.

On September 4, the USPTO issued a certificate which states: "No amendments have been made to the patent. As a result of the re-examination, it has been determined that: The patentability of claims 1-20 is confirmed."

While this patent has already led to the above import ban, it will be interesting to see how this will how – or even if – affect the next round of Apple vs. Samsung court battles, which is set to being November 12.